Previously, the present inventor has patented a skate boot in U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,361, issued May 2, 1972, and a transversely adjustable boot in U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,756, issued July 31, 1973. One problem encountered by the inventor in attempt at commercialization of those boots has been the apparent lack in the marketplace of boot lasts which could readily be used to last the uppers for those boots. Accordingly, the present invention arose as a way of overcoming that problem. The result is an invention which may be used in the manufacture of those boots and the uppers of other ankle-covering footwear, which circumvent the malleoli.
Conventional boot last extensions extend vertically, from where they are attached to a boot last body. The conventional boot last body already projects to a height beyond the malleoli (anklebones) and the extensions are attached to extend from above the malleoli; so that no consideration is given to the treatment of the high top shoe quarter in the area of the malleoli. Conventional boot last extensions are specifically structured for the manufacture of particular types of boots, such as arctic boots, rubber boots and gaiters which had to be built in such an outsize that they could accommodate the whole foot, anklebones and all, into said boots without the necessity of having fastening or lace openings therein. Boots of that kind are incapable of supporting the ankles in athletic games and/or other strenuous activities, as should boots of my above-mentioned earlier patented inventions.
A "boot last body" as used herein is one that extends up to and/or beyond the malleoli (anklebones); a "shoe last" as used herein is one that extends upwardly and is curved inwardly at the back part in a manner that requires the low top shoe quarter to clip on in a position terminating below the malleoli (anklebones). It is to a shoe last, not to a boot last body, that the shoe last extension of the present invention is removably secured. This is in contrast to the prior art in which boot last extensions are attached to the aforementioned boot last body.
The expression "medial" means that part of the last which forms the inside upper of a boot; or to the middle, toward the mid-line of the wearer's body. The expression "lateral" is that part of the last which forms the outside of the boot uppers; or to the outside, toward the flanks of the wearer's body.
For the purposes of this description "foot/leg" defines the meeting area of the lower ending of the leg into the top part of the foot and is the area from which the lateral malleolus (outside anklebone) and the medial malleolus (inside anklebone), which is higher up than the lateral malleolus, protrude.
Unitary boot/leg lasts have been devised in the past for such boots as gaiters, but they do not permit the lasting of boots to completely follow the contour of the foot/leg in the area of the malleoli (anklebones) protrusions.